


We're just winging it.

by Hiruma_Musouka



Series: Through the Looking-Glass, Weirdly [7]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, M/M, Universe Alteration, Warring States Era, Wingfic, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-11
Updated: 2017-03-08
Packaged: 2018-08-08 02:49:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7740523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hiruma_Musouka/pseuds/Hiruma_Musouka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>The main rules regarding the Uchiha are this</i>, Tōka had said years ago while gleefully grinding her knuckles into her bratty cousin's white head during taijutsu practice, <i>they're always going to see you first, and if you're looking for them, look up.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blackkat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackkat/gifts), [Red_Hot_Holly_Berries](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Hot_Holly_Berries/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Humanoid Wing Anatomy Whatnot](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/220744) by Turtle-Arts. 



> **EDIT 2016.08.24** NOW WITH FANART: [ONE](http://hiruma-musouka.tumblr.com/post/148843708620/squidspawn-from-hiruma-musoukas-beautiful)
> 
> (I don't regret the pun in the title. Not in the least.)
> 
> Since my Naruto-Sentinel fic was being annoying, I ended up writing gratuitous wingfic because why not? I haven't seen it much in this fandom. So here you are blackkat, something to tide you over until I finish the sentinel thing you were excited by.
> 
> The vague idea for this world's backstory is mostly canon with different development. [elenathehun](http://archiveofourown.org/users/elenathehun) and I were once talking about the development of different things like ninjutsu in Naruto given the way you see some of the shinobi fight in the WSE, which snuck into this fic.
> 
> So non-humans yes, chakra enhancement (developing), taijutsu and weapons (yes), ninjutsu (no-ish), genjutsu (no-ish), runes (developing). That was my vague rules for this verse. At least for humans. Non-humans have at least one thing (like breathing fire) that they can do naturally. Which (of course) shinobi use as inspiration.

A stone shoots past Tobirama's face with enough force to embed itself into a nearby tree trunk. He jerks back, drought-dry grass crinkling under his feet as he spins, hand dropping to his sword as he follows the stone's trajectory to its source. The curly-haired ambusher he'd knocked to the ground is still busy wheezing in his peripheral vision when Tobirama locks eyes, not with one of his pursuers, but with a glaring, messy-haired problem.

A flier. A man from the nearest of the winged human tribes.

Tobirama's never seen one up-close before. The Senju have always found it more advantageous to stay to the east of the Nakano rather than trespass on the Uchiha's territory. Regardless of what various daimyo or nobles might want to hire them for, there's no _long-term_ profit for the Senju in making mortal enemies of their closest neighbor. Especially when the Uchiha flock's meticulous patrols essentially create a buffer zone on their western flank.

In Tobirama's lifetime, less than a handful of rival mercenaries have successfully snuck through the Uchiha lands to attack the Senju from the west. It's simply more _strategic_ to leave the territory alone when the flock prefers to ignore humans outside of roasting trespassers.

Of course, that's much less thorough than they tend to be with _active_ threats.

Which... Tobirama might now be viewed as.

This is really not the best day he's ever had. He should have been hugging the coast right now on his way back from the desert rather than taking reckless shortcuts through the Uchiha forest.

Tobirama takes his hand off his sword, keeping his body loose and ready, as he backs away from the prone individual at his feet. The other male keeps watch from twenty feet above, crouched on a thick branch as he rhythmically tosses a second stone up and down in casual threat. His enormous wings are spread behind him in a looming mass, so black they gleam blue where they catch the fading sunlight.

The smaller flier - _not even ten_ _yet_ , Tobirama realizes with regret as he gets a better look at the boy's cherubic face and underdeveloped wings - flees from him as soon as Tobirama backs up a few more feet, white-spotted wings drawn in close as he runs under his kinsman and heads for the cliffs in the distance.

Probably for reinforcements.

A second stone impacting the ground at his feet draws his attention back to the bristling adult who's clearly irritated by Tobirama's focus on the child. The tomoe in his red eyes aren't spinning as an obvious threat, but Tobirama doesn't have a proper frame of reference to judge mood or body language based on wing movements.

So on one hand, this could be going well: the man's crossing his arms and not retrieving either the sling wound around his forearm or more rocks from his hip pouch.

On the other hand, he's getting to his feet on the branch and the Senju have stories about Uchiha shattering armor if they land a kick from a skyward dive.

He'd really prefer not to test whether his reflexes are fast enough to keep the male from breaking his neck.

"I'm sorry," Tobirama says, slow and clear, loud enough to be heard across the clearing. "I hadn't realized I was this close to your nesting grounds."

The man doesn't show any sign of understanding the language which is... actually what Tobirama expected from rumors but not helpful in the least. He'd been hoping Hashirama was right when his brother claimed that fliers spoke the common dialect.

"My name is Tobirama Senju," he continues, slowly and smoothly edging towards the east of the clearing, hoping to get into the partial protection of forest proper rather than an open space where the Uchiha had an unimpeded shot at him, "I'm simply trying to get home. There are pursuers following me, so the quicker I can leave, the less trouble they'll cause in your lands."

From the distance, a sharp clacking bird call rings out, and Tobirama takes several rapid steps as the Uchiha looks towards the cliffs. The flier takes a deep breath and then voices a high-pitched chattering call that doesn't sound remotely human.

Tobirama would really like to know how they do that when the only visible physiological differences are their wings, the underlying support structure in their back, and their feathered tail.

By the time the Uchiha looks back, Tobirama has almost managed to make it to the tree line and he's partly relaxed. In a flat out sprint, he's certain he can beat the man to the trees now. Even if the trunks are far enough apart for the man to maneuverer between them - and with that wingspan, Tobirama's not certain he can - weaving between trees will increase his chances to escape.

The brunet scowls at where Tobirama had been standing before shoving his long hair back with taloned hand. Red eyes latch onto his face, examining small details while a claw idly taps on a dark pendant lying against the man's collarbone. Tobirama continues backing up, watching with mild surprise as wings fold inward as the man turns to look first east and then west.

He has a split second to catch how the Uchiha's eyes narrow at the forest floor before an arrow flies toward his head.

He ducks, feeling the wooden shaft brush his hair as he curses. He looses sight of the Uchiha in the chaos of the next few minutes. Only a handful of the Wind Country mercenaries have caught up to him, but a handful is already a lot of trouble when he's exhausted from being chased over _half the damn country_.

He grits his teeth, taking the risky option of matching two of their swordsman instead of retreating into the trees. It's _difficult_ to keep both men between him and the archer, but it's doable. It's the reinforcements in the distance that are the real problem.

Whoever hired this group definitely had the attack well planned: two swordsmen to keep him occupied, an archer waiting for any available shot, and another seven attackers quickly catching up. And all of them have the uncommon chakra training needed to enhance speed and strength along with the professionalism to fight silently and _work together_.

Tobirama dodges another arrow, gritting his teeth against a glancing blow from a short sword. The other reinforcements start arriving at the edge of the clearing, passing the archer as they move to circle around him. He catches a brief glimpse of the Uchiha moving stealthily through the branches and idly hopes that child really _had_ gone for reinforcements. It might not help _him_ get through this, but at least the other mercenaries won't get out of it either.

The crunch of shattering bones distract several of the men. There's a slight pause that Tobirama uses to gut a red-haired man who looked towards the archer. A pleasantly deep voice laughs humorlessly, and Tobirama darts a small glance in that direction as he dodges an attack from a naginata.

The archer is dead on the ground, a bare foot crushing what used to be his skull as the Uchiha rises from a crouch, wings drawn in. Tomoe spinning, the flier deftly dodges the nearest swordsman's attack and launches himself back into the trees with a thrust, clutching the compound bow he'd taken off the corpse.

Their divided attention gives Tobirama time to fell one more attacker before someone gives an order to "deal with the damn pigeon" as they regroup.

The deeply indignant and pissed off sound of rage that follows that statement makes Tobirama smirk; especially when a large stone slams into the speaker's forehead with extreme prejudice.

It only takes a few moments to realize that, despite their outfits, these men _aren't_ Wind Country. Wind mercenaries would have been familiar with the Fuma flock who nest near the border between Wind and River. But since two of the men drew _throwing knives_ to attack the Uchiha overhead, they _clearly_ didn't know about the Fuma and their talent for chakra wind and projectiles.

And since the Uchiha and Fuma are neighboring fliers and inclined to trade and interaction...

Tobirama lunges into a backwards roll, securing enough breathing room from the remaining four attackers to wipe blood off his face from a shallow head wound. The others pursue immediately, but behind them Tobirama can see the Uchiha tilt his head up, tomoe spinning but indifferently unworried about the two men below him.

Only for the Uchiha to grin as they launch a bunch of kunai at him. It takes a split second for the flier to pluck most of them right out of the air. He doesn't even _move_ except to quickly flatten his left wing to avoid a knife.

So they're clever enough to aim for a wing, stupid enough to aim all but one knife at the man's torso, and suicidal enough to use normal projectiles against an Uchiha.

Definitely not from Wind or Fire.

The only surprising part in the next few seconds is that the Uchiha returns the kunai with force at _Tobirama's_ opponents rather than his own. Although given that he hit one in the head and another in the back before the others managed to dodge, it might have been more about aiming for the unsuspecting fighters rather than about helping Tobirama.

Either way, Tobirama ruthlessly grabs the opening with both hands. He ducks under a blade, transferring momentum into kneeing another man in the kidneys, and gets positioned behind the injured mercenary. He slams the kunai further in before messily yanking it out.

Unless the man's got Hashirama's innate healing, that's a ruined lung and a heavy bleed. He'll be dead soon since he's already down.

The last four men back off at that, shooting grim and considering looks at both the Uchiha and Tobirama himself. For all that Tobirama's exhausted, he knows the men also have to be tired, having chased him themselves. And reaching a flier with the high ground is always part of the problem when fighting them: it's why fliers get exceptionally talented at catching weapons. Ranged battle is what they _do_ against land-bound foes.

Which makes sense: they have skill at taijutsu, but it has to be developed around their wings. It's brutal in aerial battles from all reports, but Tobirama expects there's more than a little difficulty in using it on land. When land-bound, wings are simply large, vulnerable targets against an agile fighter. Hollow bones weigh less which boosts speed and aids flight, but... he's certain that fliers have to support them with chakra to avoid damage from hits that normal bones would hold up to. And less weight in general means less force behind hits.

Tobirama smirks grimly as one of men visibly tries to strategize. The Uchiha might have been Tobirama's saving grace after all, so long as the man sticks with the implied decision not to kill him. The flier's the sticking point for the mercenaries. They can't climb the tree to get to him, he'll just kick them down. They can't knock a tree that thick over without explosives, and there's more trees around to jump to if they do. They can't fire projectiles up. And they can't just ignore him in favor of finishing Tobirama because they've already attacked, and the Uchiha will likely dive them again if the chance occurs.

So the Uchiha nicely stymies them, even if the way the brunet's jaw is clenching means there's likely a problem there.

Well, besides the fact that he can't just flambé them all. Even an Uchiha wouldn't risk breathing widespread flame in a _drought_.

Of course, that's when it all goes to shit.

In the brief silent pause, it's easy to hear the snap of a branch. Everybody looks up immediately, and there, peeking out from behind a tree with a wide-eyed _"oh shit"_ expression, is the curly-haired Uchiha child.

The branch _cracks_ with the force of the Uchiha taking off and both Tobirama and one of the men lunge towards the kid. The boy takes off running - _hopefully for_ home _this time_ , Tobirama thinks fiercely - but the other three men either attack Tobirama or launch more weapons at the distracted Uchiha.

Tobirama slips his sword past the sole woman's defense to slice her throat just as the Uchiha dives, not for the pursuing adult, but for the kid. He hits the ground in an odd, running landing and in a smooth, dance-like spin, grabs the boy by a leather harness and _launches_ the kid into the upper canopy.

It leaves the man just off-balance enough to still be ground-bound when the mercenary reaches him. Tobirama grits his teeth at the messy dodge the flier makes to avoid the sword, scattered pieces of cut feathers falling as proof that he wasn't fully successful.

There's an loud, angry bellow as the Uchiha regains his footing, bare feet digging into parched dirt, and when the sword comes again, it's deflected with a screech of reinforced claws on steel. In a twist of densely packed muscle, the Uchiha slams the joint of his right wing into the first man's neck, crushing it violently.

One of Tobirama's last two attackers diverts, going after the grounded threat. Tobirama, firmly sick of this entire mess and incredibly furious about the crack that just formed in his now-ruined sword, grabs an experimental seal he still hasn't perfected yet, pins it between his hand and the sword hilt, and channels chakra through the seal as he swings widely towards both attackers.

The seal activates in fits and spurts but a torrent of icy water follows the swing with enough force to slam both men over the flier's head and into the tree trunks at the far end of the clearing.

Tobirama breathes out as they stay down, watching the slightly damp Uchiha rise from his crouch with an impressed look. The sword, of course, is now _fully_ ruined from the chakra going through it, and Tobirama examines it with mild regret as he looks at the warped metal. It won't even fit in its sheathe at this point.

"I'm going to guess you ran out of stones earlier," he offers, eyes flickering to the brunet.

The Uchiha pretends to ignore him, scowling with genuine frustration at his outspread right wing which has all its primaries and several secondaries sliced in half.

Tobirama snorts in amusement. "You don't really think," he starts, "that I'm going to believe the rumors of your language skills now, do you? If you have enough knowledge to be offended at being called a pigeon, you certainly know more than enough vocabulary to converse."

The man pauses slightly before shrugging. "It's a useful piece of misinformation," he explains with a small grin as _black_ eyes meet Tobirama's before going back to his feathers.

"Your temper must make that a difficult deception to perpetrate." Tobirama muses. He can just imagine the man's reaction to some of the more biased comments or offensive sentiments he's heard in various cities and royal courts. It's very amusing to picture the Uchiha sitting on a branch, tail and wings bristling, trying not to react as people talk about using his lovely blue-black feathers to make a fan.

In fact, given how the major trade route between Tanzaku Gai and Keishi is essentially the southwest border of the Uchiha's territory, Tobirama's willing to bet that a lot of the "territorial" attacks on that side are less from possessiveness and more from stupid people making idiot remarks that they assume wouldn't be understood.

"Lord Madara really _is_ bad at that," a boyish voice adds cheerfully, a slightly western lilt to his accent.

" _KAGAMI_!" the man bellows, neatly proving the claim as he whirls around angrily, wings flaring. He basically stomps over the nearest corpse to go lurk under the tree the boy's in, ignoring how Tobirama follows behind him. "Get your ass down here!"

"I'm in trouble, huh?" Kagami says, scratching the side of his neck sheepishly and wincing a bit as he looks at Madara's ruined feathers.

Madara narrows his eyes upwards, automatically folding his left wing in as Tobirama comes to a stop next to him. Then the man turns slightly and slams the bare heel of his right foot into the tree with a neat, rapid kick.

Kagami yelps and Tobirama's eyebrows shoot up as the enormous trunk quivers at the strike, sending leaves and twigs falling to the ground.

The boy starts scrambling downward to where his prickly relative is waiting, going head first and twisting and generally climbing in a manner Tobirama's never seen. From how his wings flare and flap in places, it's easy to see that while his wings are too small to fly yet, they're still very good for some thrust and a little gliding.

The lowest branch in the tree is, like most of them nearby, about 20 feet off the ground, so Kagami just drops, fluttering his wings for a slower descent until Madara catches him. The two of them stare at each other with identical black eyes as Kagami folds his arms behind his head, trying to look innocent in the face of Madara's flat aura of long-suffering irritation.

Between the sleek mass of glossy black and the white-spotted charcoal fluff, their appealing looks, and his underlying interest in the unfamiliar, it's simultaneously the most compelling, striking, and _cutely adorable_ sight that Tobirama has ever encountered.

He's beginning to understand some of the cooing comments his female relatives make when they break out the sake.

" _Why_ did you not go back to the cliffs?" Madara asks slowly, clearly determined to keep his temper.

"He's pretty," Kagami says, pointing at Tobirama. "I wanted to watch."

" _That is NOT a good reason!_ " Madara stresses, voice strangled as he keeps from yelling in the kid's face.

"But you didn't actually hit him with the rock, so you like him, too," Kagami says, like that's actually _reasonable logic_.

Tobirama raises an eyebrow as Madara promptly drops the boy, letting Kagami land neatly on his feet as the older man slams a hand over his eyes, looking visibly pained.

"And he really is pretty!" Kagami chirps, looking up at Tobirama, tail wiggling behind him. "He can make his eyes red like we do when we want to see things! And I didn't know the grounders could have white plumage without being old! Don't you think he's pretty, Lord Madara?"

"I can't believe I lost flight feathers for this," Madara mutters grouchily, ears blazing red and feathers flattening down as Tobirama smiles at the child.

"We would say I have white 'hair' rather than plumage," he explains to the fascinated boy. "Plumage just means feathers."

"Which feathers?" Kagami asks immediately. "These feathers?" He points past Madara's leg at the man's long tail feathers. "Or these feathers? Or these? Or these? Or—"

Kagami keeps rapidly pointing a different feathers on Madara's right wing, and the Senju can't help smiling a bit wider when Madara yelps as the boy accidentally pulls out one of the damaged primaries. Madara lightly shoves Kagami to the left with his wing, narrowing his eyes at the kid who coughs and then hands Tobirama the diagonally sliced feather.

Tobirama takes it, shooting a look at Madara to make sure it's actually alright, but the man roughly waves it off with a jerky shrug.

"Plumage means _all_ feathers as a group," he continues, idly smoothing down the feather's barbs. "There are some specific words that people use for individual types of feathers, but not all people know about them."

"But how do you know which feathers people _mean_ if they don't use the right word?" Kagami asks, tugging on Madara's pant leg as he looks between the adults.

"Most grounders don't care since they don't have wings," Madara sighs, carefully running his talons through Kagami's hair in a fruitless attempt to make the kid look more put together.

Ironic given the state of his own hair.

"But you know, don't you mister..."

"Tobirama Senju," Madara answers before Tobirama can, surprising him before he remembers the initial introduction he'd done to try and avoid being attacked. "You were right there when he said it after knocking you on your ass. And he knows because he reads a lot of books."

"I forgot! He's pretty! I forgot! I'm allowed to forget!"

"You are years too young to be going empty-headed at a pretty face: don't imitate Izuna to cover yourself. Actually, go find my brother," Madara orders, chivvying the protesting child further towards the cliffs and, notably, away from the bodies behind them. "Tell him to stop preening for attention from whoever and to bring Hikaku and some of the stronger fliers."

"But I want to ask questions!"

"He'll come visit tonight, now move!"

Tobirama watches as Kagami sulks away, waving as the boy looks back at them.

"So you _are_ my brother's childhood friend," he says to the flier, red eyes flickering between currently black eyes and the wooden pendant he can now see displaying the kanji for friendship. "I wasn't certain since Uchihas are supposed to always have red eyes. But unless you guessed about the books...?"

"Hashirama used to talk _a lot_ ," Madara says with the same exasperated tone Tobirama's accustomed to using around his older sibling. "He never mentioned anything that would _normally_ come up like, _hey, my brother looks like a winter rabbit_ , but he certainly mentioned your name and the books and whined about how you once set up a giant bucket to drench him after he ruined a book by being a moron."

"I am _not_ a rabbit," Tobirama says icily.

Madara glares right back. "Well show me a cat with your coloring and you can get an upgrade!"

"You'd probably run from a cat; it would be undiplomatic to bring you one."

"Excuse me!" Madara splutters.

"And my brother's not a moron," Tobirama adds, familial loyalty finally kicking in.

Madara snorts. "Does he still have the ugly bowl-cut, the pinstripes, and the habit of getting easily depressed over stupid things?"

"He's changed his hair and clothing style. At any rate," Tobirama says, changing the subject and watching Madara grin at the implied confirmation of Hashirama's continuing ridiculousness, "what exactly did you think you meant by saying _I'd_ visit?"

"Are there more of those after you?" Madara asks, pointedly gesturing towards the bodies.

Tobirama considers, but, "I should have lost them in River."

"Because you lost these ones so well," Madara taunts. "Look, you didn't even hurt Kagami when you could have, and that was a hard reflex to pull with how he surprised you. And you were... decent when I confronted you. The Senju are better neighbors now, but even ten years ago your clan was a lot bitchier despite staying on your side. It's... good to have better neighbors. Also, you helped kill intruders who attacked a fledgling," he adds idly.

"They were originally after _me_ ," Tobirama reminds pointedly, a little more interested now.

"What the old buzzards don't know, they can't bitch about," Madara says dismissively. "Just ignore any of the elders and you'll be fine."

Tobirama looks up at the night sky, rapidly darkening from the partial dusk it had been when everything started before glancing back at his brother's childhood friend.

It's a curious proposition. And it's not an opportunity readily available to land-bound people. And he'd like to know a bit more about this man who used to play with his brother back when tensions were still higher. Who, if the stories are right, actually let his brother dump them both in the Nakano during a game of tag despite what had to be an irritating case of water-logged feathers.

(Although that story probably involves a lot more yelling at Hashirama than the version his brother once told him.)

It's interesting.

And Tobirama has a real weak spot for curiosity and interesting things. The cat remark wasn't very off, if he's honest.

"I assume there's a way up to the living space that doesn't require wings," he says, glancing down at Madara's damaged flight feathers.

Madara nods briskly, already scowling as he pulls his wing close and starts yanking out the damaged parts.

"This next week is going to be irritating as hell," he grumbles, glaring as he lets blood-speckled feathers drop to the ground. "And I suppose you'll tell that ridiculous moron about everything so he's definitely going to show up with bouncing, puppy enthusiasm, too."

"He misses you," Tobirama says, lips twitching at the statement.

" _Not_ ," Madara says threateningly, pointing a bloody feather point at his face, "until these grow back, do you hear me? I want _altitude_ when Hashirama shows up. _Altitude,_ fluff-head!"

"I'm sure you'll be fine, bird-brain," Tobirama says calmly, ignoring Madara's irritated hissing noise as he looks at the feather Kagami had given him, admiring its iridescent gleam in the low light.

Maybe he could make it into a quill pen? It's something to think about.


	2. 2 Years Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life continues to progress and Tobirama finds progress to be both pleasant and very loud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was not planning to come back to this, but Holly wanted something to cheer her up on a sad day so here we are. Thank you Squid and Holly for your comments.

The top of the mountain cliffs containing the Uchiha nesting grounds have a beautiful view of Fire country during the day.

Tobirama feels long-held tension drain out of his shoulders as he quietly sits, appreciating the scenery and the warm fall weather as the sounds of children playing drift up to him. Kagami's bright laughter stands out among the distant chattering of less familiar Uchiha, and he can feel the happy bubbling of chakra inside the youngest two of the handful of Senju children who had accompanied him on this visit as the kids all play together.

If someone had told him at ten that the place he would feel safest outside of the Senju compound would one day be the heart of a flock's territory, he would have never believed it. But relations are continuing to improve between the Uchiha and the Senju, steadily if slowly, and it's _good_. It's very good. Most of the adult fliers are still intensely territorial and wary of unknown humans - especially anywhere near their home - but Hashirama's friendly charisma and utter lack of boundaries have actually served their clan well in establishing negotiations.

... No matter how many heart attacks it had first given both sides.

Because his brother _had_ nearly given people heart attacks two years ago when the Uchiha had escorted Tobirama to the border of their territory. Hashirama, who had evidently learned that Tobirama's mission had gone south, had ended up accidentally ambushing them at the Naka river with a rescue party that had been armed and ready for mercenaries.

It had been a surprise for everyone and much more stress-filled than Tobirama would have preferred, but Hashirama - being himself - had been _thrilled_ to recognize his old friend after he had confirmed Tobirama was unharmed. Hashirama had then proceeded to demonstrate how happy he was to see Madara - _through his favored medium of physical affection_.

Madara - who had _not,_ in fact, had a chance to regrow his sliced feathers in the three days since their run-in with those mercenaries - had not really appreciated that.

To this day, Tobirama still doesn't have many memories more amusing than Madara squawking and flailing angrily while he tried to squirm out Hashirama's embrace. No one else had appreciated it at the time, of course, since the Uchiha had thought their grounded leader was being attacked and the Senju had thought their clan head had lost his mind and was about to be either disemboweled by talons or have his neck broken with one of the wings slapping his head. Luckily for everyone, Hashirama's happy laughter about _"Look how big your wings grew! I bet you can actually get off the ground now."_ and Madara indignant screeching of _"I swear I'll drown you in the river, you oaf!"_ had quickly incited wary confusion on both sides rather than more violent reactions.

And now here they are two years later: with some trade and a stable cessation of hostilities as they encourage a more comfortable familiarity through careful visits. It's still something both groups keep quiet about, something more private than well-known given the political and social atmosphere, but it's working for them and it's beneficial. Tobirama isn't the only Senju now who has managed to live through a mission gone bad by diverting through the Uchiha's forest and even that assistance alone would have made all of their effort worth it in his opinion.

It has certainly done nothing to dissuade Hashirama from expanding his dreams of peace to include both races.

There's a rush of wings and a trilling whistle sounds out loudly behind him. Tobirama looks over his shoulder, matching faces to approaching chakra signatures as a small party of Uchiha land meters away on the open grass between the mountaintop's vegetable and herb gardens. Madara raises a hand in greeting when he sees him before lowering a basket and several bags to the ground and turning back to discuss something with the other fliers who had accompanied him.

Tobirama idly watches as the adults unload various packs, rubbing their shoulders and stretching and generally looking tired and windswept. A few of the men and women absently acknowledge him with various degrees of warmth - the Uchiha are understandably much like humans in that opinions on mercenaries (and himself) vary - and Tobirama politely returns the gestures.

A few seconds later more Uchiha appear by either flying up from varying directions or walking up the carved stairs that lead down into the nest inside the mountain. The quiet mountaintop turns busy and noisy as relatives chatter with each other and packs are divided up to be carried by the fresh arrivals. Eventually though the crowd dies down, heading back inside with what Tobirama assumes is trade goods from the overheard gossip, and he's left alone again except for Madara who's walking towards him.

"I wasn't expecting to see you," Madara says, a faint tilt to his lips despite the bags under his eyes. He nudges Tobirama's shoulder lightly with the back of his hand, talons curved in safely towards his palm, before kneeling down on Tobirama's left and sitting back on his heels, tail curved out to lay flat across the grass behind him. "I'm certain you weren't meant to arrive for another three days unless I've lost time on my trip."

"Originally yes," Tobirama agrees with a neutral expression, not really looking forward to the upcoming conversation despite Madara's curiosity, "but it came to our attention that there have been some... unsavory rumors developing among a few of the mercenary clans that Hashirama is seeking to build relationships with. Recently the theories have begun to spread throughout the country, warping away from the truth as civilians and nobles impose their own bias, and we wanted to ensure you heard of them from us rather than from travelers on the roads bordering your land. It's likely we'll need to take some form of action soon and that will require an agreement between us on what both our people think is appropriate."

Madara sends him a suspicious look before sighing and rubbing the heel of his hand into his left temple. "I don't suppose you have something pleasant we could start off with first and then we'll just delay the bad news until after dinner?"

Tobirama pauses to consider it. "You flock has excellent hospitality and we appreciate your willingness to continue hosting our younger members despite past incidents," he offers.

"You brought all your troublemakers here again so they couldn't get underfoot back home, didn't you?" Madara asks, smirking along with his accusation as he stretches his neck with a pop.

"Of course not," Tobirama refutes smoothly. "I merely brought a few of Kagami's friends whose parents were comfortable with letting them travel immediately."

"Isn't that what I just said?" Madara says dryly.

"How was your trip?" Tobirama prompts.

Madara groans dramatically, shifting to bring up one leg and bracing his crossed arms on his knee. "I. Hate. Buzzards," he complains, thumping his head on his arms with ever word as his wings stretch out backwards. "They have an _extremely_ loose idea of what flocking is, no central organization that they'll admit to, they all just do what they want, they only vaguely keep in touch with each other unless they're mated, and—" There's an angry hissing sound from Madara's curled up ball of rage and Tobirama starts smirking. "—they're _terrible_ to trade with."

"Why didn't Izuna or Hikaku go instead if you hate them so much?" Tobirama asks, leaning back on his hands.

Madara lifts his head slightly to send him a dirty look through the fall of his bangs. "Because if you aren't aggressive enough they don't want to listen to you no matter how good a fighter you are."

Tobirama pauses, looking over at Madara with growing amusement. "Are you saying you're the best person to deal with them because your willingness to angrily yell at them is _actually effective?_ "

Madara meets his crinkled eyes with a tired glare. "I'd be more content about it if they'd stop giving me _reasons_ to want to yell."

Tobirama snorts and they fall silent, relaxing in the lazy afternoon sun. The energy seems to drain out of Madara now that he's home in the safety of his flock's protected territory, and both his wings and eyelids start to droop after awhile.

A child makes a particularly happy squeal in the distance, sounding far more boisterous and carefree than most children of mercenary clans, and Tobirama can't help the faint smile that surfaces even as Madara's head jerks, blinking blearily in the direction of the stairs.

It's easier in quiet moments like this - with children playing and no blood-soaked missions waiting for him - for Tobirama to feel like he really believes in Hashirama's dream. It's easier to want it for himself, too. Easier to hope they can find a way to make it possible with treaties and alliances the same way they've worked out something more cooperative and peaceful with the Uchiha.

Mercenaries might be at odds far more frequently than humans and fliers on the whole, but they're also the same species. Surely that's enough common ground to start with.

Provided rumors don't continually try to stab them in the foot, at any rate.

Madara shifts next to him and Tobirama's attention drifts. He watches the flier reach back with one hand and run talons through the feathers at the base of his tail where the core of the limb meets the lumbar region of his spine. A light coating of oil glints on Madara's nails as he straightens out his left wing, stretching awkwardly as he begins to preen as close as he can to his body.

Given that Madara isn't an actual contortionist... "Another pair of hands would make that easier."

"Izuna will do the close ones later," Madara grunts, torso twisting as he reaches, giving Tobirama a better view of his back and the two openings on the Uchiha's shirt where his wings and tail emerge from between the ties.

"Would you like my help?" Tobirama offers after a brief hesitation.

Madara stills. "You're offering?" he asks, sounding surprised and lowering his hand as a brief speculative expression crosses his face.

Tobirama inclines his head, rotating his wrist to gesture at Madara's wings. "I imagine claws make it easier, but they aren't required to preen properly, are they? You've allowed Hashirama to help you occasionally, after all."

Madara immediately rolls his eyes with a snort. " _Hashirama_ is bewilderingly difficult to convincingly tell 'no' to while making the answer actually stick."

This is, to be fair, one of the most accurate descriptions of his brother that Tobirama has ever heard. Observation over the last two years has also proved it to be no small part of Hashirama and Madara's friendship. Although Tobirama does have to give the Uchiha credit for being able to tell Hashirama things and make him actually listen with greater frequency than most people manage.

"Is that a no then?" Tobirama asks, brushing a bug away as it tries to land on his bare cheek.

Madara flexes his fingers, staring at him intensely. "... You really want to?"

"I'm curious," Tobirama explains, eyes shifting to examine at Madara's right wing lying next to him, tracing over the slightly disheveled layers of black feathers before moving on to the elongated tail. "It's always more informative to experience something personally. Not to mention that it still goes against all logic that fliers are able to achieve flight at all. Surely there must be something different in the underlying structure of your anatomy for you to function even with your occasional use of chakra to augment yourself. The fact that your wings join at a secondary pair of scapula in your back located underneath the superior scapula that joins your humerus bone to your clavicle, for example, automatically implies that the musculature in your ribcage—"

"I don't know why I even bothered wondering," Madara mutters irritably, suddenly looking displeased as he moves to lay on his stomach. Primaries and secondary feathers brush firmly along Tobirama's stomach as Madara stretches his right wing out over Tobirama's outstretched legs and buries his face in his folded arms with a huff. "Just make sure the feathers are all aligned as best you can after you're done mucking around."

Tobirama blinks down at the living blanket of feathers in his lap, not having quite expected this despite having offered. "No other pieces of advice or demands, Madara?" he questions, voice unintentionally quieter as he gently settles his hands on the other man's wing, feeling muscles flex under the smooth feathers.

"Refrain from ripping anything out unless it's already come loose or you'll be worse than Hashirama was at ten and I'll never let you forget it," Madara threatens grouchily, voice muffled and hair spilling over his arms so that Tobirama can't see his face.

"How helpful," Tobirama says flatly, eyes narrowed at the back of Madara's head before he turns his attention to the task.

He runs his fingers slowly through the feathers, feeling the underlying muscles groups and bones and taking mental notes on his observations as he compares it to what he's learned of birds. From what he can tell, there isn't much obvious difference aside from where the wing connects to Madara's back though, and soon enough he moves on to the actual preening.

There's an odd disconnect in his thoughts as he works, almost as if he thinks he _should_ be embarrassed but isn't. There's no logical reason for it if Tobirama considers the matter from a flier's perspective: preening is a frequent necessity and is as standard and unremarkable as brushing their hair. The only real difference between the two actions is that preening is more of a social activity from Tobirama's observations since, in addition to demonstrating a basic level of care for another individual, fliers quite simply find it uncomfortable or outright impossible to reach all of their own feathers.

It's a simple, uncomplicated part of their lives and Tobirama can't count the number of times he's witnessed it between different Uchiha during his visits. Admittedly, aside from various children, he's only seen Izuna, Hashirama, and Hikaku help Madara before today, but that's still no reason to be self-conscious when a few Uchiha walk by. The other fliers don't even pay the two of them much attention besides a quick glance and a nod when Tobirama looks up at them.

Madara slowly goes boneless as Tobirama repeats his methodical movements. He doesn't even twitch the one time Tobirama's dull fingernails accidentally scrape the bare skin of his lower back while gathering more oil from the gland on his tail. Madara just lays there and - from the feel of his chakra - proceeds to fall into a very contented, half-awake doze as his muscles relax and stress drains away.

A chirp comes from somewhere nearby and Tobirama stops, blinking as he tries to pin down the point of origin. Madara grumbles after a few seconds, shifting his wing demandingly, and with an eyebrow slowly climbing towards his hairline, Tobirama starts moving again as he watches Madara closely. Nothing happens for a few minutes as he finishes what he can reach of the dorsal side of Madara's right wing, and he moves his hands back towards Madara's shoulder, pressing his fingers into the thick muscle of his wing and appreciating how the shorter, softer feathers run through his fingers.

Another chirp sounds with a third one coming shortly after, and with affectionate amusement bubbling in his chest, Tobirama confirms that the sharp chirps are absolutely being made by Madara himself.

"Are you doing that on purpose?" Tobirama teases through a widening smirk that goes unseen as he drags his fingertips on one hand back and forth over Madara's softest feathers while his other hand gently rubs at the base of Madara's wing.

Madara flops a hand up in a half-hearted insulting gesture even as he chirps again.

Tobirama laughs softly, shuffling around so he can fold Madara's wing in order to comfortably reach both the flier's un-preened feathers and his oil gland. Madara's bird-like chirps continue sporadically as he goes along, and Tobirama is about to casually ask whether or not _Hashirama_ knows Madara makes this sound - purely for the imminent reaction that will spark - when a group of children rush up the steps.

"—bound to be someone up here! Come on we'll— oh!" Kagami perks up as he clears the steps and spots them, still much smaller than a same-age human would be but with yet another large growth spurt in his wings even though Tobirama had seen him only two months ago. "There you are! Tobirama, Tobirama, you have to come flying with us!"

Madara snickers face down against the grass, already aware of Tobirama's opinion on unnecessary flights, and Tobirama gently pulls on one of his feathers in reprimand as he smooths out his own expression. "Perhaps another day, Kagami. I'm sure Suzue and Makoto are looking forward to spending time with you without more adults around," Tobirama declines diplomatically.

"Well, we have to find more adults anyway," Kagami says, seeming to notice Tobirama's hands in Madara's feathers for the first time as he blinks in surprise, curiously glancing back and forth between his lounging flock leader and Tobirama's reserved expression before shrugging it off. "I'm just starting to fly for longer periods of time. I can't carry anyone yet and I'll be in big trouble if I go too high unsupervised and _that's_ the fun part. You guys don't mind if Tobirama comes along too right?"

"Nooo," Suzue drawls, staring blatantly and shamelessly at her older clan member and ignoring both Tobirama's raised eyebrow and how a nervous Makoto is repeatedly poking her in the side. "Lord Tobirama can come if he wants. Although he seems to be _busy_."

" _Suzue_ , you're going to get us in trouble," Makoto hisses, cheeks turning a bit pink as the boy awkwardly avoids looking at them.

"Why would she get in trouble?" Kagami asks blankly.

"Yeah, why would _I_ get in trouble," Suzue emphasizes, unimpressed as she cocks a hip, crosses her arms, and keeps staring.

Makoto's eye twitches, irritation beginning to overcome nervousness as glares at the side of Suzue's head, drawing up to his full height of two centimeters shorter than her. " _Suzue_."

"Ma-ko-to," she sing-songs mockingly.

"Kaga _miii_ ," Kagami pipes up, grinning as they both turn to him.

"Now that we've confirmed you all know each other's names," Madara interrupts, shifting onto his side and propping himself up on an elbow to look at them with an annoyed scowl, "why don't you lot explain why it was you came up here?"

"Kagami's too short to carry us," Suzue explains blithely.

"I am not short!" Kagami argues, staring up at the preteen girl whose chin was level with his head. "I am perfectly sized for my age! Just watch, I'm going to be _even taller_ than Lord Izuna one day!"

"And even if that was actually saying much given Lord Izuna's height, you're still adorable right now," Suzue says, patting Kagami on the head as Makoto makes a pained face next to her at her undiplomatic comment, eyes darting towards the two adults.

"What was it I said about the kids earlier?" Madara muses to himself, giving Tobirama a pointed look over his shoulder as he folds his left wing between his back and Tobirama.

"Anyway!" Kagami spins around, wings fluttering as he dawns a hopeful look. "You can help carry them so we can go flying, can't you Lord Madara?"

Tobirama resists the urge to smirk as both Senju children abruptly blanch at the request, sending mildly horrified looks at an oblivious Kagami's back.

"Not a chance," Madara refuses, finally dragging himself up to a seated position next to Tobirama with his tail curved back awkwardly as Kagami smiles at him winsomely. "I just carried far too much weight over a ridiculous distance after dealing with not-flocks of really infuriating people. Don't try making that face at me, Kagami! Go find someone else."

"That's alright!" Makoto says quickly as Kagami opens his mouth and Suzue unsubtly elbows _Makoto_ in the side this time, trying to drill holes in the side of her cousin's head from the force of her stare. "We really wouldn't want to impose, Lord Madara. I'm sure there are a lot of people who are, uh—" His eyes dart briefly to Tobirama and how they're sitting. "—less occupied! I'm sure Mr. Hikaku knows some people. Right, Kagami?"

"What is even with you guys?" Kagami asks, bewildered as Suzue looses her patience, grabs the back of Kagami's shirt, and makes a rapid retreat with Makoto towards the steps. "It's like you've never seen preening before, which is ridiculous because you helped mom preen _my_ wings when we all got covered in mud."

 _"Kagami, it's Lord Tobirama!"_ Makoto hisses, mortified as only a preteen boy confronted with _feelings_ can be while Suzue throws the adults a half-assed comment about 'sorry for bothering you' over her shoulder.

"So? Even after I grow up, I'd let him preen my feathers too if he wanted. Lord Madara letting him isn't a surprise except for how long it took for them to start an— Hey! You're going to make me trip, Suzue!" Kagami exclaims, as they reach the steps before squawking as the Senju girl ignores all manners and just hauls him over the shoulder. "What is wrong with you guys?! Put me down!"

"This is what you get for making dumb suggestions!" Suzue snaps, stomping down the steps and ignoring Kagami's flailing wings or the tail hitting her head.

"What dumb suggestion!" Kagami cries, voice echoing back up the stone pathway. "You were both excited about flying and Madara never drops people for fun unless they piss him off! He's a good choice!"

"Are you just _overlooking it_ or are you really that dumb!" Suzue demands, voice fading as she rapidly gains distance while a pale but pink-cheeked Makoto bows to the both of them before running after the other kids like his life is at stake. "Even if it _wasn't_ there, you don't ask clan heads to lug our asses around!"

"But he's not _busy!_ If he doesn't want to he'll say no, but you can't know without asking!"

"That's not how it works!"

"Is so!"

"Is not! Makoto! Makoto, grow a spine and back me up on this... clearly doe-... idea what he's..."

There's a few moments of quiet as the kids retreat before Madara shifts. "... Is there a reason they seem to be acting as if they walked in on something inappropriate?" the flier asks, voice a little suspicious as he stares over at the steps where they can still hear the faintest hints of the kids arguing.

Tobirama raises an condescending eyebrow in Madara's direction only to sigh at the genuine bafflement he can catch in the Uchiha's expression. "That would be because it _would_ likely be considered a level of inappropriate physicality by most humans," he explains. Then Tobirama pauses and has to admit: "Also, I tend to avoid most physical contact outside of training and my brother so that no doubt added to their reaction."

"Why is it _inappropriate?"_ Madara demands incredulously.

Tobirama just stares at the man with a raised eyebrow for a long, long moment until the answer clicks on in Madara's head and then snorts in amusement as pale cheeks flush red. "Humans don't generally groom one another. Especially in public. It tends to have very... intimate implications."

"That is a blatant lie," Madara argues, voice squeaking before he scowls at himself. "I know you have public baths where perfect strangers bathe together. How is that not inappropriate then! And, and there's Hashirama! He practically ambushed me last time to help with my wings and that was in your compound!"

"Onsens work on a different cultural standard," Tobirama dismisses, grabbing the tip of Madara's left wing now and stretching it out to work on straightening a particularly crooked handful of feathers. "And different standards are what my clan puts into play when they see him with you. Also, it's Hashirama - he's well known for unashamedly standing out of the norm." A smirk edges up his lips as Tobirama makes sure he's looking at Madara. "There is the minor fact they have bets running on if you're sleeping together or not though."

Madara splutters, face cycling through horrified embarrassment, indignation, defensiveness (and wasn't that interesting), and a wild-eyed and crazed look that's far more satisfying than anything Tobirama had expected.

The Uchiha flock leader attempts to speak several times, making a few squealing squawks that are more reminiscent of alarmed geese and stuck pigs than words. "That's not—! That's absurd, I do not—! _It's Hashirama!_ GET THAT SMIRK OFF YOUR FACE!"

"I'm sure they'll let it go eventually," Tobirama says blithely, threading through more feathers as Madara tries not to die next to him. "Perhaps in a few more months. A year or two at most, depending on when Hashirama's engagement with Mito is successfully concluded. Unless you allow her to preen you as well of course, although at this point I'm sure you're able to intuit for yourself the amusing rumors that will result from that action."

 _"If you mention any of this to Izuna I will throw you off this mountain!"_ Madara swears in a shrill whisper before coughing and pointing at Tobirama's nose rudely. "Now don't change the subject! Why would kids balk about it being you when they don't around your brother? They have to know you're in it for the science if they know you at all."

"I suppose the children skipped that valid reason for preening and focused on a different motive that they empathized with more."

"See! You- wait, what other motive?" Madara asks sharply, abruptly dropping his lingering embarrassment as he zeros in on the implication.

"That depends," Tobirama says deliberately. "What was your motive for accepting?"

"They're a mess, you offered, and I trust you not to rip feathers out," Madara answers, crossing his arms. He holds Tobirama's gaze, completely unashamed, but there are small fidgeting, twitches in the wing muscles under Tobirama's fingers.

"So if I ask Kagami about wing etiquette, he'll tell me preening is done between anyone who doesn't rip out feathers?" Tobirama asks. "Or perhaps I'll ask Izuna? Hikaku would likely be more helpful, but for the sake of good political relations it's more appropriate to ask you or Izuna about potential cultural differences to prevent future misunderstandings."

Madara presses a knuckle firmly against the pressure point between his eyes as his ears tinge pink through the fall of his hair, visually recognizing both the implicit threat and the trap in Tobirama's words but not able to do much about them. "Preening is not a _thing,"_ Madara insists, voice slightly strained as he refuses to look at Tobirama. "Regardless of what perverted grounder minds think, _it is not a thing!_ People would not do it around or to children if it would be a thing and that, that preconception that seems to get fetishized by people is offensive."

"And you are embarrassed because..." Tobirama counters dryly.

"I am not embarrassed!" Madara snaps, head darting up to glare at Tobirama. While blushing. And bristling. And fidgeting in a manner which makes Tobirama want to poke him more. "There is nothing embarrassing about it!"

"So the part you're leaving out is..."

Madara huffs. "It's done between children and any trusted adults, but adults limit both the giving and receiving of the act to close family or people they implicitly trust if they have any choice at all. There. Happy, you interrogating ass?"

"... I wouldn't say happy," Tobirama answers softly, scratching gently at the black feathers in front of him and thinking of Madara's irritated reaction early when he'd professed interest in the anatomical structure of a flier's wings as a reason for his offer. "I think honored is a more accurate assessment."

Madara's glare at the side of his head falters, and the Uchiha shifts, mouth opening slightly before closing again as he turns to stare elsewhere while Tobirama proceeds to finish the last of the feathers on the back of Madara's wings.

"What were the rumors you referenced earlier anyway?" Madara asks quietly, ignoring how his longest flight feathers drag slightly on the ground when he draws his wings back in as Tobirama stretches out his fingers. "We might as well discuss it now."

Tobirama doesn't catch his slight grimace quickly enough. "If you like, but remember that they're simply rumors and assumptions that surfaced from other humans. They're outright wrong in parts and at least partly inaccurate in other areas. Refrain from losing your temper."

Madara narrows his eyes.

.

.

"This is uncomfortable and squeezes my chest," the little Senju girl complain, pulling at the leather flying harness as Kagami helps his male Senju friend into another one.

Izuna - who unfortunately owes Natsumi more than one favor and is thus stuck with handling her son's request for flying help rather than delegating it - casually smacks the back of Kagami's head when the boy opens his mouth. He's sure Kagami wouldn't say anything deliberately insulting, but the boy's slightly excessive honesty and friendly enthusiasm should not be combined with any comments relating to a female's chest until the kids are no longer Izuna's problem.

"Unfortunately," Izuna says with a sympathetic smile, "we don't have any larger ones for you. The latest any of our flock needs a harness is age ten since that's when our first major wing growth spurt is about half-way over. Since ten year old humans are much larger all around than ten year old fledglings, we're just going to have to work with it. I'm not taking any grounders up without a convenient way to catch you if—"

"THEY THINK HASHIRAMA WANTS WHAT! AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN NEAR **OUR MOUNTAIN!"**

The kids all jump at Madara's furious shriek coming down through the open air outside the highest flight caves, and Izuna sighs, catching the inquisitive Senju boy before he tumbles over the edge to his death.

There's no follow up yelling from Izuna's dear brother to explain what in the sky that was about, and Izuna can already hear the trills and inquiring whistles of various kin carrying through the cave system as people begin to get concerned. Of course, none of _them_ sound interested in investigating when the topic comes up which leaves it up to Izuna as usual.

Although this does mean that Madara has saved him the trouble of flying with the kids so there's that bright side.

"Well, Kagami, it sounds like duty bellows," Izuna says, spinning the boy who's already sighing in resignation. "Go have fun somewhere for a bit while I save my brother from his own blood pressure."

"Can we ask Mr. Hikaku to help instead?"

"Of course! Hikaku loves kids," Izuna chirps, unrepentantly exaggerating as he throws his younger cousin under a few child-sized boulders. "Just remember to be very persistent if he tries to turn you down. He's just a little shy."

Kagami sends him a weird look at the description but gets dragged off by his female friend before he can question Izuna on his rather unsubtle falsehood.

It'll be good for Hikaku anyway, Izuna's sure. The younger man should have practice with kids, lots of practice. He might pair up with a lovely lady who wants an entire nestful of hatchlings one day, who knows? It's practically Izuna's sworn duty as Madara's Second to ensure Hikaku is prepared for everything.

( It might also contribute to Izuna finally pinning down where Hikaku's temper is hiding because that's been a question that's nagged him during long, boring flights for years. No one should be that even tempered. )

And now all that's left to do is to go figure out exactly what's happening and how likely it is that Izuna might need to prepare to roast humans and dodge weaponry.

... He should also probably calm Madara down before his brother breaks both hospitality and everyone's eardrums.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we are! This is marked complete because I have no intention as of now to write more in this verse but it's also open for continuation. Madara's screeching at the end of the chapter has to do with the rumors as I'm sure everyone intuited, but you'll have to just enjoy wondering what they are :P

**Author's Note:**

> So there we are! Gratuitous wingfic. Isn't it cute? [blackkat's blog](http://blackkatmagic.tumblr.com/) had lots of posts lately about Tobirama as a cat, and one about cat!Tobirama pulling out bird!Madara's feathers, which I wish I could say inspired this, but I was writing it before that. So the ridiculousness is all on me.
> 
> Also, I have cute headcanons now. Like how fliers have to always sleep on their sides or front, or how kids nestle under their relatives wings for warmth at night, or how kids all have to wear little harnesses because adults need something to lung for and grab when curious/adventurous hatchlings start trying to fly or throwing themselves off cliffs or any number of things that happen when a fear of heights is NOT ingrained in your instincts. Or how, since kids nest with family, it's super common for unpaired adults to have kids randomly dumped on them when their parents need breathing room.
> 
> And how the younger kids probably think Tobirama is _super weird_ for not having wings, like, they've never seen something this strange before, they thought all the adults were just pulling their feathers and lying, and now I'm imagining an exasperated Madara lying down on his front, vaguely amused as several little kids hide under one of his wings, and poke their heads out to spy on Tobirama "without being noticed". It's all horrendously cute. I wish I could draw.
> 
> (Incidentally, I imagine the Sharingan functions slightly differently here since really advanced sight _in general_ would be important for anything that flies. Much more useful than perfect memory.)


End file.
